Beautiful meditation. I intended to do this before bed, which would be a great idea, but lost track of time and ended up doing this during a lunch break in my office at work. That was also a great idea ❤️

Oh Lindsey, I’m so sorry you’ve been sick! I hope you recover quickly. What you’re saying to yourself on repeat sounds exactly right- giving yourself grace. I am sending that and love and light to you. You described the journey of getting this far in the challenge beautifully. I hope you know taking care of yourself to get well again does not undo any accomplishments you’ve made. It’s all about our wellness and growth; your health by definition takes precedence. Cheers to all you’ve managed, grown, and learned in the Challenge and cheers to your hopefully speedy recovery. I can feel the disappointment of not being able to end it as you intended, but I know you’ve slayed it over the past few months.

Woo!! Congrats on reaching 52 and counting! 💪👏

I echo Emily! There are so many rooting for you. I hope things feel more manageable soon, and these difficult weeks/months end up serving a worthwhile purpose that reveals itself on the other side of it. In the meantime, reach out whenever you need some extra support. 💗

When it’s emotional, thank yourself for being so in touch with that part of you, and tell yourself you’re ready to explore the balanced approach of now actively moving your thoughts to that logical side. We greet ourselves with curiosity and love rather than put-downs for not being better at all of it yet. Sending you love on your journey! And I am proud you showed up and stuck with the workout, even if it wasn’t making the list of top 10 workouts you’ve crushed this month. You are so much more than your output.

Consider tapping into logic more by being curious and seeking data that is grounded in fact (when I experienced success in workouts, was I more hydrated? Less tired? More physically rested? More focused/present?). Please practice the compassion part and give credit for still showing up and sticking it out. Remember our “100% effort” does NOT always look the same. And for work, celebrate the wins and practice catching yourself when the “what ifs” and “what next” sets in. Those are fear based and not helping you concretely evaluate to see how and why you were successful (to make it more likely to experience success again).

Remember our initial thoughts/ reactions may be old habits and not indicative of us failing to make progress and change. To be aware that my initial reaction is X, but I don’t linger there and feed that reaction; instead I counter it with a more realistic thought (maybe with your examples: something that acknowledges this workout was hard and I had more energy/better form/whatever another time this week/ month is fair. That it is frustrating to experience these ebbs and flows, yet zooming out you can assess your overall progress and know your commitment to health isn’t just one day or week of workouts.

I really appreciate what you posted, and the responses below. Some thoughts about your question are: as imperfect and perfectly worthy human beings, it’s a good start to check our expectations are realistic and compassionate. Expecting to have all sides of ourselves perfectly cultivated and balanced feeds into our false belief that we aren’t reaching something attainable. Yet being able to build upon our skill set and strive for more balanced thinking is excellent and a realistic process.

Ugh I cannot be brief in my response to you, Amanda! If you have a few mins, please read this multi-post essay.

Thanks Lindsey! 💙😂🥸🤷‍♀️